


The Tempest

by Brownies96



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders Video Blogging RPF, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Communtiy Theatre AU, I love my boys, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-04 01:11:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15830670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brownies96/pseuds/Brownies96
Summary: When Virgil took a job at his local theatre he didn't expect much at all. And nothing could prepare him for Roman, Patton, and Logan.





	1. New town, new job, new ways to screw everything up

Virgil got off the bus, mumbling a quick thanks to the driver. He weaved his way through the flow of people on the street, walking as quickly as he could, not willing to draw attention to himself by breaking out into a run, but really beginning to freak out. He could **not** afford to be late on his first day of his new job. It didn’t seem to matter how hard he planned, how often he checked the bus timetable, there was no controlling just how much the universe seemed to hate Virgil.

 

In typical April fashion it was pouring, and in typical Virgil fashion he had forgotten his umbrella. Fortunately, it wasn’t a long walk to the theatre from the bus stop. Virgil had seen the ad for the job at Foster Community Theatre on a forum while he’d been in the process of moving. He’d never been given a job without an interview before, so he deduced that these guys were either really desperate or he was about to be murdered, it could really have gone either way.

 

So why was Virgil still going? Because money. You know, that stuff you need to buy food, and shelter, and to pay your electricity bill. Virgil had just barely managed to leave home after finishing college, and he wasn’t going back if he could avoid it: His mom didn’t need the extra mouth to feed and he didn’t need his mom’s bullshit.

 

The façade of the theatre was run-down, but it was plastered with posters advertising the upcoming performance: Shakespeare’s the Tempest. Although the front of the building was dusty and crumbling, it looked earnest. Virgil wasn’t sure how a building was able to look earnest, but somehow it did.

 

The inside looked a lot better than the outside, showing all the signs of a recent, intense clean. He walked through the foyer and through the door that said “STAFF ONLY” which lead backstage, as the instructions on the email told him to.

 

“Are you Virgil?” came a voice to Virgil’s right, making him jump.

 

“Um, yeah,” he said, trying to recover some of his dignity. It didn’t work.

 

“Sorry,” the person put his arm out before them, “I’m Joan, the producer and co-director. I’m just asking so I can tick you off. Normally you’ll fill out your own time sheet, but as it’s your first day, I’ll do it for you, so you have an example.

 

“Thanks,” Virgil said.

 

Joan pointed out the important stuff; bathroom, dressing rooms, where spare trusses were stored, etc. Virgil was doing his best to keep track of it all by the time they reached the sound/lighting booth. Virgil breathed a sigh of relief. This was his space, he knew what he was doing. True, it wasn’t a room or a box like the one at his college had been, but the controls formed a sort of wall around him and his swivel chair marking the territory as his own.

 

“Can I, um, sort of, practice with these?” Virgil asked. The systems were the same brands he knew, but they were different models.

 

“Sure, play with lights and sounds. I’ll radio you when the cast turn up.” Joan offered Virgil a smile and then went on their way.

 

Virgil had a look at the script he’d been given, colour-coding the light cues in purples and pinks, and the sound cues in blues and greens. Once he’d figured the order out, he examined the controls, tentatively pressing the buttons and flicking the switches that should give him the beginning storm.

 

When Joan radioed him, Virgil was already in Act 3, and so far he at least understood what he was working with.

 

Virgil just kept his head down and the stage lit when the actors entered. He didn’t recognise any of them, he’d only just moved. They stood around the way actors do, with comradery, but also rivalry. Joan stood beside the loudest person in the group (and that was saying something). His build was athletic and though he wasn’t the tallest in the group he had a way of drawing attention to himself, so he stood out more than anyone else in the room.

 

He was able to watch them figure things out while he marked where the cues were and fidgeted with the placement of the lights. He was careful not to turn any of them off, so the stage stayed lit. He knew this was the easy part of this job. Eventually, he’d be putting together curtain cues, costumes, and props, but for now it was just setting up lighting and sound that he needed to deal with.

 

Virgil was only sort of listening to the actors when Joan asked him, “Virgil, what do you think?”

 

“Hm? Think of what?” Virgil was confused.

 

“Roman’s idea.” Joan gestured to the man beside them.

 

“I suggested,” Said Roman grandly, making Virgil wonder if this guy was for real, “that during the flashback of Act 1 Scene 2, we have the swirling of the tempest give way to the flashback acting on stage, so it’s like the inside of a crystal ball.” Roman was gesticulating so wildly that Virgil wasn’t sure where to look.

 

Virgil tried to find a nice way to say what he had to say. He failed. “No.”

 

Roman looked at him affronted. Virgil continued “It simply isn’t possible with the lights set up like this, and you’d need multiple projectors. Also, while that would look really awesome on film, on stage it would just be a way-too-long transition.”

 

“Thanks, Tickle-me-Emo.” Roman was clearly annoyed at having had his idea put down. But it simply hadn’t been possible. Virgil gave Joan a look that he hoped screamed ‘help me’.

 

“Sorry Virgil, Roman Prince just hates having his ideas shut down. He’ll get over it.” Joan said, “But sometimes his ideas are amazing, after all without him this place would have been shut down. He owns the theatre.” They walked off after Roman.

 

Great, thanks Joan, I feel so much better, Virgil thought sarcastically. But he watched Roman closely after that. Virgil couldn’t understand how on earth Roman was running a theatre. He was just so easily distracted, like a magpie running after every shiny thing he could see. He lit up on the stage as Prospero, but that just made him a good actor, not necessarily a good manager. And that was all without mentioning how young he was, he didn’t look any older than Virgil and 23 was definitely too young to run a theatre. Virgil stifled a groan, this guy was supposed to be his boss. That really was just his luck.

 

Just as things were beginning to quiet down, and people were slowly beginning to leave, Virgil heard Roman squeal.

 

“You’re early!” And before Virgil could process what was happening two men had run at each other, leaping into each other’s arms like it was a freaking Disney movie.

 

As it wasn’t, in fact, a Disney movie, the two of them fell with a thump onto the hard floor. That didn’t stop them giggling or kissing. And while the kissing was pretty chaste there was enough of it going on that Virgil definitely felt like he was intruding. Another man walked up beside the two of them and offered his hands out to them both. He was more put-together than both of them, and looked very done with this.

 

“Aw! Thanks Logan,” said the other one, taking Logan’s hand and kissing him on the cheek.

 

“Yes, thank you, dearest,” Roman added, pulling himself up on the other arm and kissing Logan’s other cheek.

 

“I gave my students an early mark, so Patton was able to pick me up early,” Logan said, “He insisted we come home to see you.” Although Logan’s tone was clipped and polished, there was affection in his voice, becoming more apparent as the corners of his lips turned up.

 

“As soon as we get everything packed up, I’ll be right with you.” Roman promised, kissing Logan first, then Patton.

 

Virgil looked down at his now-tidy work station, and left, signing out like Joan had shown him to. He made his bus, which was an enormous relief, the trip home was long enough without him having to wait outside in the rain.


	2. Poly-what-ory?

In his first few weeks at the theatre Virgil was pleased to say that he understood a lot of how the theatre worked. He knew that Joan was all business until Talyn, the person playing Ariel, came into the picture. He knew that the actors playing Trinculo and Stephano actually hated each other but were good enough actors to pretend otherwise on stage. He knew that Roman, despite being a melodramatic mess, always stayed later than everyone else to work on the play.

 

What he still didn’t quite understand was Roman’s relationship with Logan and Patton. He knew Roman was gay, the guy basically has a flashing neon sign above his head, but he didn’t get what was going on. Logan often hung around the theatre on Thursdays and on those days, Roman would mysteriously disappear on his lunch break, only to return with sex hair and several hickeys that hadn’t been there before. But whenever Patton showed up, sometimes with baked goods in tow, he and Roman would become the very definition of PDA. And although Virgil didn’t see Patton and Logan as much as he saw Roman. They definitely seemed to be at least friends.

 

The more Virgil observed the more anxious he became. He knew cheating, he’d watched it tear his family apart just as he’d started college. The more he saw of Patton especially made him begin to feel really awful, like someone was practicing knot tying in his stomach.

 

That Friday was the last straw.  Logan had shown up towards the end of their lunch break, he and Roman had made eye contact, and the next thing Virgil knew they’d both disappeared. Around 3:30pm, Patton turned up, his eyes tracing over everyone only for neither Roman nor Logan to be anywhere in sight.

 

Virgil’s heart broke for Patton. He seemed like such a nice person. He didn’t deserve to be drowned in whatever selfish mess Roman had concocted. His fear of people and his sense of justice went to war with each other in his brain. Not that the outcome of the battle mattered, because Patton approached him.

 

“You alright there, kiddo? I’m Patton.” He said.

 

“Um,” Virgil didn’t know what to say, “I’m fine,”

 

“Really? Because you look really worried. Is there anything I can do to help?” That broke Virgil’s resolve. He had to tell him. He pulled Patton into his sound booth and prayed that nobody would eavesdrop.

 

“I’m really sorry,” Virgil began, aware that he was speaking at a million miles a minute, but he couldn’t stop, “and I know it’s none of my business, but I can’t just sit back and watch, you know? I think Roman’s cheating on you with Logan.”

 

To Virgil’s absolute surprise, Patton burst into laughter. Was this shock? Virgil was very confused.

 

“Sorry,” Patton said, wiping a tear from his eye, “it’s really sweet that you said something to me, not a lot of people are considerate enough to say anything,” Patton stopped to giggle again, “but it’s not like that at all, Roman, Logan, and I are polyamorous.”

 

Patton had lost him, but tried to explain upon seeing Virgil’s what-the-fuck expression. “Polyamory is where more than two people all date. Logan explains it better than me, but there are all sorts of cool configurations. Ours is that Roman, Logan, and I are all dating each other.”

 

Virgil was slowly beginning to understand, and boy howdy did he feel stupid. “So your poly-what-ory-“

 

“Polyamory,” Patton corrected patiently.

 

“Is that you’re like a three-person couple?”

 

“We call it a triad, but yep, that’s pretty much it.” Patton was beaming at Virgil.

 

Well, Virgil sure wished he’d kept his mouth shut. But Patton seemed to pick up on this.

 

“You can ask me anything, I won’t mind. I teach kindergarten, so I can be sure anything you say will be more tactful than I’m used to,”

 

“That, and you date Roman.” Virgil added with a snort. Patton chuckled.

 

Virgil looked down. He did have a lot of questions but where to begin? And how much of it was polite to ask? Patton leant back and hummed contentedly, he looked as calm as Virgil wished he could be.

 

“How does it work? Dating 3 people, I mean, one person is hard enough.” Virgil hoped that wasn’t too weird.

 

Patton smiled, “It’s really not that hard. There’s no big secret to it. Just communication. Which I suppose is a secret, maybe?”

 

Virgil and Patton continued to talk, and Virgil was soaking up the information like a sponge. Living with his mom, who was still waiting for his ‘gay phase’ to be over, Virgil had never really been involved in the queer community. He’d had to live at home while at college, so it wasn’t like he could have been out then or anything. He’d always figured that he wasn’t missing out on all that much but learning about polyamory with Patton made him wonder just how much he’d missed out on.

 

They talked and talked until Patton gave a sudden squeal which made Virgil start. Roman had snuck up behind them and placed his arms around Patton’s waist. Patton grinned and leant back to kiss Roman.

 

“I was wondering where you’d gotten to,” Roman said to Patton, “and I find you here distracting my staff.”

 

“He, wasn’t,” Virgil said quickly, “I was waiting for the sounds for Act 3 Scene 3 to download.”

 

“I was only joking, Count Woe-laf,” Roman said. Virgil rolled his eyes at the nickname, they seemed to be a staple part of interacting with Roman. And he’d long since given up on trying to talk to him, Roman was just too full of himself for there to be room for anyone else.

 

Patton waved goodbye to Virgil and went to follow Roman. Virgil groaned, he really wanted to believe that had gone well, but there was no way that it had. He wanted to smash his head on his desk for being so stupid, but he couldn’t afford to damage the lighting equipment.

 

He was still beating himself up when Logan approached him. Virgil swallowed, had Patton told Logan and Roman what he’d said? They’d hate him for sure.

 

“Virgil?” Logan said in his polished tone.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m Logan, Roman and Patton’s boyfriend. Patton is busy cheering Roman up right now, but he said that you seemed unhappy after your conversation with him, so if there is anything you need please ask.”

 

Virgil was touched that Patton cared enough, but still terrified. “Ho-how much did Patton tell you?”

 

“He said that you misunderstood our situation and were concerned for Patton’s wellbeing. He found it very endearing. He also said that the two of you talked for some time about relationships and such. I am certainly no expert on anything so emotional, but I would also be happy to answer any questions about our triad.” Virgil had known Logan was smart, but this was next level. He talked like some kind of genius.

 

Virgil did have questions. Lots and lots of questions. He fought with himself over whether or not he was going to ask them. Logan was looking at him expectantly.

 

“Don’t you ever worry that someone’s being left out?”

 

Logan smiled slightly at that, “We used to. All the time, in fact. We had a schedule for it. But Roman and Patton aren’t exactly the schedule type. Once we understood each other’s wants and needs we were able to express our feelings much more organically. By communicating with each other we essentially solved that problem.”

 

“That’s sort of what Patton said too.”

 

“Well, it makes sense that we would describe the same relationship the same way.”

 

Logan wasn’t quite as easy to talk to as Patton. Mostly because Virgil felt like he needed a dictionary to understand him sometimes. But he was pretty cool, and down-to-earth, which Virgil could appreciate. It was weird, that of the triad he got along best with the ones he spent the least amount of time with. He waved goodbye to Logan and dashed to the bus stop, careful not to slip in the puddles that littered the ground.


	3. All the world’s a stage

Virgil’s Monday was cursed from the moment he woke up, not to his alarm, but to a call from his mother. Virgil picked up the phone, fighting down the unpleasant swell of emotions that it was frankly far too early for him to be dealing with.

 

“Virgil? It’s been two weeks and you haven’t called me! You could have been dead for all I know.” Virgil got up and pulled some clothes on, tuning out his mom’s guilt trip. He knew she cared, but she still hadn’t quite grasped the fact that he had his own life and goals and was his own person external to what she wanted.

 

And then came the inescapable question: “Have you met any nice girls yet?”

 

No, mom, I’m gay, he wanted to say, but he just gave a non-committal hum and let her continue her tirade. Virgil made a mental note to call her next time, it was easier when he could calm himself down beforehand. He could already feel the sudden call throwing his entire day off-kilter.

 

He grabbed a quick breakfast and ran for his bus. He spent the whole bus ride in tense silence. He could hear his heart racing, and nothing seemed to be able to calm it down. His thoughts flittered through his head, too fast for him to catch. All he could focus on was getting to work, just one foot in front of the other.

 

It wasn’t until he’d made it to the theatre that he was able to rest his shoulders, like a marionette that had just been released. He headed for his little sound and lighting desk and threw himself into his work. The full tech run through was fast approaching and Virgil still couldn’t quite get the cues for Talyn’s ‘three men of sin’ monologue. They ran through them as best as they could, then Joan and Roman had him run the initial tempest several times while they practiced the scene.

 

Virgil was grateful for the distraction. Anything was better than being alone with his thoughts. He was starting to dread going home to his tiny, empty apartment when Roman called up to everyone.

 

“Is anyone willing to stay back a bit late? I need to work out some blocking for the wedding scene.”

 

Virgil looked around, nobody was volunteering. He sighed at himself, and despite knowing damn well that he’d regret it, he put his hand up, “Sure, whatever,”

 

“Wonderful! I knew you couldn’t be 100 per cent the personification of a dark and stormy night.”

 

“Oh, I am,” Virgil said, “and don’t you forget it.”

 

Roman laughed at that and Virgil felt himself relax a little more. He’d suspected that Roman just liked to tease people, and that the best thing to do would be to tease back. But Roman was still technically his boss, and he couldn’t shake the idea that Roman would hate him for thinking he’d cheated on Patton.

 

“You . . .” Roman laughed, “are an emo nightmare!”

 

“Thank you,” Virgil responded, offering up a half smile. The theatre was oddly quiet now that everyone had left, Virgil was relieved that Roman was there to fill the huge space with his massive ego, though he’d never admit that.

 

“I need you to stand there,” Roman put his hands out, so they were almost touching Virgil’s shoulders and waited. Virgil realised he was asking Virgil if it was OK to touch him, Virgil nodded. That was weirdly nice, people didn’t usually ask before stuff like that. Roman guided Virgil around the stage softly singing a song, Virgil recognised it as ‘Go the Distance’ from Disney’s Hercules. Roman put masking tape at his feet and continued to move him around the stage.

 

Virgil didn’t even realise he’d started singing along until Roman looked up at him in surprise. Virgil clamped a hand over his mouth, as if that would somehow undo what a fool he’d just made of himself. Roman stepped towards him carefully, like he was a deer that might spook. Roman’s hands were warm as then gently pulled Virgil’s hand away from his mouth.

 

“You’re a really good singer,” Roman said, “and I’d know,” he added, but Virgil had just seen through his bravado. This was how he’d managed to get not one but two boyfriends (Virgil had been wondering), Roman was actually nice, and insecure, and all the things he pretended not to be. Virgil let himself uncoil. “Thanks, I guess.”

 

“What made you pick ‘the Tempest?” Virgil asked Roman, not wanting to continue in silence.

 

“It’s not as glamourous a reason as I’d like,” Roman said, his bravado-filled façade cracking, “It had to be a Shakespeare, so we could guarantee at least one school would buy tickets, and the Tempest has always been one of my favourites.” Roman continued “it’s our first play since we bought the theatre, and I need it to work so we can get some kids enrolled in our holiday program.”

 

“When did you buy the theatre?” Virgil was curious now, he’d long ago deduced that they were desperate after he’d been hired without an interview, but he’d never known why.

 

“Oh, about four months ago now. Logan, Patton, and I put the money together, I was finally able to stop trying to combine being a server with being an actor and we set about restoring this place. We couldn’t afford rent as well as a mortgage, so we converted some spare rooms upstairs into a loft.”

 

“Wait, you live in the theatre?” Virgil couldn’t hide his surprise.

 

“Yep,” Roman popped the ‘p’. “We’ve done it up nicely. It will really suck though if this doesn’t work, it’s one thing to be without a job and another entirely to be without a home.”

 

“So, how do you make money? How do you pay us? And you’d better be paying me overtime for this.” Virgil watched Roman smirk at that.

 

“Of course! Anyway, I take extra-curricular drama at the school Patton works at, and I give some of the kids at Flagstaff Prep private singing lessons. It balances out. Or, it will, as long as the show does well.”

 

“I, uh, hope it does,” Virgil said, not sure of what he should say.

 

“Thank you, Virgil.”

 

There was a loud crash of thunder from outside which made them both jump. They both ran out to the foyer where the rain was bucketing down mercilessly. The roar of the thunder hinted that this wasn’t even the middle of the storm, and it would only get worse. Virgil’s heart sank when he saw the road outside, the road had completely flooded, there was no way the buses were running through that.

 

“Logan said you get the bus home,” Roman said, bringing Virgil out if his panicked thoughts, “you should probably stay with us tonight,” Roman took in Virgil’s expression.

 

“That wasn’t a proposition!” Roman said far more melodramatically that necessary, “But I can’t, in good conscience, send you out in this weather with no way to get home.”

 

“Thanks,” Virgil shook his head, Roman sure was a lot.

 

Roman led them around to the back of the theatre, past what must have been his office (it looked like trophies and posters had thrown up all over the room) and to a long circular staircase.

 

“Not exactly accessible, is it?” Virgil quipped.

 

“Not a lot of old buildings are. I do plan on having an elevator installed, but only if we can afford it.” Roman ran a hand through his hair.

 

“Why’d you do it, anyway?” Virgil asked as they climbed the stairs.

 

“Do what?”

 

“Buy the theatre?”

 

“Ah, well, I’ve always loved the stage and someone, I’m sure Logan knows who, once said ‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life’. Ah, here we are,” Roman opened a wooden door to reveal a room that was the antithesis of whatever Virgil had been expecting.

 


	4. What poly domestic bliss looks like

“Logan! Who said, ‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life’?”

 

“The jury is still out, most people attribute it to Arthur Szathmary, but some sources report it dating back as far as Confucius.” Came Logan’s calm voice.

 

“Oh, also I brought Virgil with me, the storm outside is really bad and he couldn’t get home.”

 

“Oh no!” Came Patton’s voice from the bright kitchen. Patton hurried over to Virgil, wearing an apron and oven mitts, holding a tray filled with some kind of pastry. “Are you OK?”

 

Virgil waved off Patton’s concern, “I’m fine,”

 

“I figured I could clean out the guest room and Virgil could stay there for tonight.” Roman said to Logan who was assessing the situation.

 

“I see. Virgil, if you would like to have a shower I will fetch you a towel. Roman has more pyjamas than anyone could ever possibly need-“

 

“Hey!”

 

“So, he should be able to provide you with some. I will show you how to use the laundry as well, so you can wash your clothes for tomorrow. Will that suffice?”

 

Logan had thought of everything. Virgil was handed some pyjamas and a towel and was in the shower before he’d really processed what had happened.

 

*          *          *

 

Roman stared at the mess before him. It was about equal parts his and Patton’s fault. There were props Roman had talked old producers into letting him keep, art supplies for every artistic endeavour he’d ever tried. Logan had tried to talk him into getting rid of some of them when they’d moved, but he just couldn’t. Everything from embroidery to water colour to photography intrigued him.

 

Patton wasn’t much better. He held onto every childhood possession that he’d ever owned. He literally had the blanket he’d been brought home from the hospital in. Logan and Patton seldom argued, but when they did it was about Patton’s hoarding tendencies.

 

Roman managed to clear everything off the bed and fit it into the stuffed closet. There’s a gay joke in there somewhere, he thought, moving the modular bed so it was extended to its full double-bed size. Logan had designed the bed as part of an engineering project and Patton and Roman had insisted they keep it even though they really only needed their king bed.

 

Roman looked through the sheets they had, pleased to find that the double bed sheets they’d kept were the charcoal grey ones, he could see Virgil liking those, his dark aesthetic did make it easy to predict what he’d like. He’d just finished making the bed when Virgil entered, the pyjamas Roman had given Virgil were a bit big for both of them, making the neckline so wide it fell off Virgil’s left shoulder. Virgil looked very different without his usual dark eye make-up (Roman had thought the racoon look had gone out of fashion in 2006 before he’d met Virgil), he looked softer and more vulnerable.

 

“Thanks for letting me stay,” Virgil said, his tone defensive as usual. Roman knew that both Patton and Logan thought his need for people to like him was ‘unrealistic’ and ‘unhelpful’, but Roman couldn’t help it, he wanted Virgil to like him. Which was going to be hard with Virgil in his home, in nearly 24 years only Patton and Logan had ever loved him despite how utterly useless he was.

 

Kissing his hopes of Virgil ever liking him goodbye, Roman watched Virgil put his stuff down and they made their way to the family room.

 

Patton had made miniature beef wellingtons and a bowl of steamed vegetables, there was more than enough for all of them. Roman loved Patton’s cooking, he went for traditional dishes usually, but managed to keep the comfort of them no matter how many changes he made. The only sounds that came once the food had been served were appreciative groans as the food was shovelled into their mouths.

 

“Mm, Patton, that was magnificent!” Roman exclaimed, his heart warming at the way Patton blushed at the praise.

 

“Yes, your cooking skills are prodigious.” Logan agreed.

 

“I haven’t eaten this well since I left home,” Virgil added. Roman knew exactly what was going to happen, he sat back to enjoy the show.

 

“Oh my gosh! That’s no good. I always make way too much, I’ll send some food home with you. That reminds me, I can drop you at your apartment tomorrow after I drop Logan at the university, it’s no trouble.”

 

“Oh, um,” Virgil looked down, “I live all the way across town, you don’t have to.”

 

“Oh, I have nearly an hour and a half to kill after I drop Logan off, he has an early class tomorrow, so I’m not going to be doing anything.” Patton’s smile was so sweet, even after all this time Roman was still very charmed.

 

“If that’s too early-“ Roman went to add.

 

“No.” Logan said in a tone that offered no argument.

 

“You don’t even know what I was going to-“

 

“You are not driving Virgil anywhere. We agreed when you sold your car that you are not touching Patton’s and mine. Not with your driving history. We cannot afford to be without a car.” Roman sighed but had to agree with Logan’s assessment, the nicest thing even Patton had managed to say about his driving was that it was ‘creative’.

 

Roman and Logan were on clean up, Roman washed while Logan dried. “Is it OK that I invited Virgil to stay?” Roman asked.

 

“Yes,” said Logan, “I was surprised though, I was under the impression that you didn’t like him.”

 

Roman made one of those offended noises the others were constantly making fun of. “I don’t dislike him. He’s just very . . . paranoid. He always seems to assume the worst of everything and it makes keeping my play interesting rather difficult.” Roman complained.

 

“That sounds an awful lot like your complaints of me,” Logan arched an eyebrow.

 

“Well, maybe, but you usually have a reason behind it. It just feels like Virgil blows the risks of every suggestion out of proportion,” Roman sighed.

 

“Maybe he does, but cognitive distortions are common. You know as well as I do that he isn’t doing so maliciously, he genuinely believes himself to be doing what’s right. And given just how much is riding on this, maybe you should heed his caution.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “Are you upset that I won’t allow you to drive the car?”

 

“No,” Roman lied, but then decided against the lie, “kind of . . . I know why, but it just reminds me of all the ways in which I’m a failure.”

 

“Falsehood.” Logan said, his eyes ablaze. “You are excellent at a great many things, after all I certainly would never have been able to restore the theatre so well, and the idea to save money by building the loft was ingenious. You are an innovative genius, and you know how rarely I use that word.”

 

There was a clatter as Roman dropped the serving spoon he was washing into the sink as he swept Logan into a fierce kiss. Logan was surprised for a moment but returned the kiss with equal ferocity.

 

“OK, I just got Virgil settled- you two!” Patton’s mock angry tone had them breaking apart, “I can’t leave you alone for five minutes,” Patton shook his head and laughed at their guilty expressions. “Hurry up and finish the washing up so we can go to bed and you two can continue whatever you were doing.”

 

“If you think, even for a second, we aren’t going to involve you in a whole lot of that “whatever”, you haven’t been paying attention for the last two and a half years.” Roman said, the fire still lit in his eyes.

 

Patton giggled and blushed sweetly.

 


	5. How do things go from being so nice to so awful?

Virgil woke with a start. He wasn’t home, and his mind was in overdrive trying to process the unfamiliar smells and sounds. It took him a moment to remember where he was, Roman, Patton, and Logan’s house. He stood up and opened the door to find his clothes from yesterday neatly folded with a note saying, “I put them in the dryer for you – Patton”. It was nice not to have to wear dirty clothes again.

 

Virgil pulled his clothes on and followed the smell of food to the family room, where Patton had made several piles of toasties. He wished he’d kept some make-up in his bag, he felt unpleasantly exposed without it.

 

“Really?” He asked himself, “you couldn’t even keep an eyeliner pencil in your bag?”

 

“Virgil! You’re up!” Patton exclaimed brightly, “You can have whatever you want, there’s cheese, cheese and tomato, cheese and onion and tomato, and sausage and egg.”

 

Virgil couldn’t help smiling back. He grabbed several slices of various toastie and tried them all. While he was eating his third Logan emerged from the hallway, not a hair out of place.

 

“Sorry, it took me so long to get up,” Logan said, kissing Patton on the cheek as he took a sausage and egg toastie, “Roman wouldn’t let go of me.”

 

“So, will Prince Charming be getting up anytime soon?” Virgil asked dryly.

 

Patton giggled, “It’s 50/50, either Logan getting up will mean he’s lost his heat source and he’ll wake up, or he’ll cocoon himself in the duvet and sleep until ten.”

 

Virgil snorted, that sounded about right. Logan and Patton exchanged indulgent looks. It was sweet, seeing all three of them being in love with each other, Virgil could see how each of them contributed something different, and the way they actually talked to each other. In every pathetic attempt at a relationship Virgil had been in he’d always been too scared to bring up anything that upset him. It felt good seeing proof that they could annoy and upset each other and still work things out.

 

“Are you both ready to leave?” Logan asked Virgil and Patton.

 

“Yep!” Patton said.

 

“Let me just go get my stuff.” Virgil went back to the guest room and packed his bag. He heard a shuffling noise in the doorway and turned around to see Roman, wrapped in what looked like several blankets and a duvet.

 

“Morning, Princey,” Virgil said.

 

“Here,” Roman blearily held a small eyeliner pencil out at him, “you look wrong when your eyes are all normal.”

 

“Thanks, I guess?” Virgil took the pencil and lined his eyes using the mirror on the wall.

 

“It was a compliment,” Roman still sounded half asleep, “who wants to be normal? Boring!” He patted Virgil on the head sleepily, “I’m going back to bed now, bed is warm.” Roman yawned and walked away from the door, leaving Virgil standing there in confusion.

 

He slowly walked back out to Patton and Logan. “Roman just came and gave me some eye make-up. Is he always like that when he wakes up? Or was he sleep-walking?”

 

“Roman has never sleep-walked before,” Logan said, “sleep-talked and sleep-sang? Yes.”

 

“He can be a bit . . . special when he’s just woken up,” Patton agreed, “He wasn’t rude or anything?”

 

“Nah, he must have heard me say I wished I had some eyeliner,” Virgil said, piecing it together.

 

“He can be very astute when he cares to be,” Logan said., herding them out the door.

 

They dropped Logan at the university first, he waved as they drove away. Patton offered Virgil the auxiliary cable, so they spent the rest of the drive listening to Panic! At the Disco’s new album.

 

As they approached Virgil’s apartment block, the traffic got heavier. Some streets still seemed to have flooded.

 

“Sorry I didn’t drop you off last night, but Lo and I had already cracked open a bottle of wine,” Patton said as they waited for the severe weather response team to usher them through to the street.

 

“It’s fine,” Virgil said, “You did so much for me,”

 

“It was no problem! You-“ Patton cut himself off and Virgil followed his eyes to see what Patton was looking at.

 

Oh shit.

 

There was a huge oak tree toppled through the block of apartments. It had taken down several rooms in the process. Virgil could see into his room. His knees felt weak. He was sure he was about to wake up in that bed, and all of it would just be a weird dream. But no.

 

“Virge? You OK?” He could hear Patton’s voice, but it felt so far away.

 

When had the tree fallen? Was it while he was eating dinner? While he’d showered? While he was fast asleep? He couldn’t connect it.

 

Virgil didn’t know how long he’d just stared at the building. His focus was drawn away when Patton gently placed an arm on his shoulder.

 

“This is Fiona Gallagher.” Patton gestured to a woman in an emergency response team uniform, “She says it’s safe for us to go up to your room and get your stuff. Are you OK to do that?”

 

Virgil nodded numbly and made his way up the familiar stairs that were now drenched and filthy. He opened his door and was immediately struck by how cold it was without one of the walls. That was when it hit him. He was going to have to leave. Where would he go? Back to his mom? The thought made him feel like he was going to jump out of his skin.

 

He looked over at Patton, who was watching him sympathetically. Patton held his arms wide for a hug and Virgil jumped into them, crying himself hoarse into Patton’s shirt.

 

He didn’t want to go back to him mom. Moving out had been his chance to be himself, to enjoy his interests, to not be locked in the god damned closet all the time. He’d have to give up his job, the life he was finally starting to make here.

 

“Hey kiddo,” Patton said tenderly, “I’m gonna make some quick phone calls, OK? Can you start making piles of the things that aren’t ruined and I’ll be right with you?” Patton gave Virgil a tight squeeze as Virgil nodded, then he walked over to the wall and pulled out his phone.

 

Virgil took some plastic bags off Fiona and shoved his clothes in, they’d be OK after a wash, right? He knew his CDs were ruined but he couldn’t bring himself to part with them, even though he could feel that several of them had broken in their cases as they’d fallen off the pile. He’d gotten the apartment pre-furnished, so he didn’t have to worry about the bed or anything, but with all of the salvageable and sentimental items packed away the room just looked even more broken. Virgil could feel himself starting to cry again.

 

“Roman! You don’t have to yell,” Patton was saying into his phone, “but I’m glad you agree with me.” There was a pause, “Are you sure you have a plan?” Another pause, “A plan that won’t get anyone hurt?” A much longer pause this time, “OK, if you’re sure I guess we’ll see you when we see you.” Patton hung up.

 

Virgil was looking at Patton, not really sure of what to say. He was relieved when Patton spoke. “Roman is on his way. He’s going to help you get your stuff back to the theatre.”

 

Virgil was confused, still struggling to think through the shock. “What? Why?”

 

“Oh, sweetie,” Patton sighed, bundling Virgil up into another hug, “You didn’t think we were going to leave you here with nowhere to go?”

 

Virgil didn’t say anything, he suspected Patton might not like that his answer was ‘yes’.

 

“I might have to leave you alone for a bit,” Patton began, “I only have half an hour before I have to be at work, but I’ll stay until I have to go.”

 

“Thanks,” Virgil said softly. But then he realised, “I can’t ask you to take me in. You’ve already done so much.”

 

Patton held him tighter, “You didn’t ask, we’re offering. And if you want to you can help out with the mortgage, it’ll probably be cheaper than this place. I already called Logan and he says he’s happy to discuss it all with you.”

 

Virgil breathed a small smile, “You really thought of everything, huh?”

 

“Probably not, but I want to make sure you’re safe and happy. And if we’re lucky enough to be able to help you with that, then we should.”

 

Virgil was tearing up again. He didn’t understand how Patton could be so kind and compassionate. No wonder Roman and Logan were head over heels in love with him.

 

Patton helped Virgil go through the bags one last time, he seemed very determined to get Virgil to keep as much stuff as he possibly could. They were interrupted by a loud car horn. They turned to look out the knocked-down wall, and saw a Subaru truck with its window down and . . . Roman? Talking to the emergency response team.

 

“He’s with us!” Patton called down to the people. They were only on the second floor, so the team heard and waved Roman through.

 

“I can’t believe you borrowed your aunts’ truck!” Patton said as he wrapped Roman in a tight embrace.

 

“I’m under strict instructions to return it without so much as a scratch.” Roman recited. He then surveyed the room before him.

 

“I knew the storm was bad by this is just – Oh my goodness no!” He cried. Virgil looked at what he was pointing at, it was his old Nightmare Before Christmas poster. “That is art!” Roman declared, “How dare Mother Nature besmirch such a thing!”

 

Virgil found himself laughing at Roman. It was a bit too hysterical to be a normal laugh, but it was nice to feel something other than fear, even if it was just for a moment.

 

“Patton, my love, you really need to get to work, I can drive Virgil and myself home.” Roman said.

 

“Oh gosh! The time!” Patton quickly hugged Virgil and pecked Roman on the cheek. “See you tonight! Love you!” He called as they walked down the stairs. Roman and Virgil packed his stuff into the massive trunk. “Don’t worry,” Roman told Virgil as he strapped himself in, “my aunts are terrifying, I’m going to be driving very carefully.”

 

Somehow, that didn’t quite make Virgil feel better.


	6. Simply meant to be

Roman watched Virgil as they unloaded his things from the truck. Roman could see the tear tracks in Virgil’s eyeliner and he felt awful. He knew he should be doing something, but what? Patton was good at being caring and comforting, Logan helped people realise that everything would be OK, but Roman just sort of ran at everything at full speed. That certainly wasn’t going to help with this situation.

 

“Um, I called everyone. We’re having a lazy rehearsal day. So you can clock in and do work, but you don’t have to do all your hours or anything.”

 

“Thanks,” Virgil mumbled.

 

Roman let them both in and he gestured towards the laundry. “You can go wash your clothes and stuff if you like. I have a lot to clean out of the spa- I mean, your, room.”

 

Virgil smirked and saluted him before heading for the laundry.

 

Roman opened the cupboard and about a thousand things fell on him. There were his clothes that Logan had deemed “too outlandish” for regular wear, there were Patton’s old stuffed animals and even a few of Logan’s old books. Roman began the tedious process of sorting everything by its owner, singing to himself while he worked. He could move most of his belongings into his office, expect the clothes which he would vacuum pack into their closet. He could make a storage cupboard for Patton out of some of the unused space in the theatre, and he would leave the books next to Logan’s desk for him to shelve (Logan hated it when people messed up his shelving system).

 

Virgil popped in which he was boxing things in order to move them. “I’m gonna head down, Talyn just texted me and they’re here so we’re gonna run through Act 3 Scene 3 again.”

 

“Wonderful,” Roman said, “have fun.”

 

Roman ignored the pang of guilt he felt for not going downstairs. But he’d just had a brilliant idea and Prospero would just have to wait. Roman went to the prop closet and grabbed as much paint as he could carry and got to work.

 

By the time he was done it was 1:30. Roman grabbed one of the toasties Patton had left and headed down to the stage. He was buzzing with excitement and it showed in his performance. Everyone agreed that he was doing very well now that he’d graced them with his presence (sure Joan had said it snarkily, but Roman decided to take them literally).

 

Because he’d let them reduce their hours, just about everyone was gone by 4pm. Roman pranced over to Virgil, Patton, and Logan, who were talking by the sound/lighting booth.

 

“I have a surprise for you!” He grinned at Virgil. He was a little disheartened by the fear on Virgil’s face, but he ignored it. Virgil was going to love this. They all followed him as he made a bee-line for Virgil’s new room. He swept the door open and watched their awestruck faces as they entered. “Ta-da!”

 

Roman had painted the in various shaded of dark green, black, and brown so the walls looked like the inside of a tree trunk at night. On the sloped ceiling he’d used a phone projector Logan had made and traced all of Virgil’s posters that he could remember, painting them onto the ceiling. At pride of place, in the centre of the ceiling, was the Nightmare Before Christmas poster he had remarked on earlier. Around the room, Roman had taken all the broken, and scratched up CDs and hung them from fishing wire around the lights, so rainbows bounced around the room.

 

Patton was the first to regain his voice, tears filling his eyes, “Oh my goodness, Roman! You’re so talented! This must have taken you ages!”

 

Logan came next, “You really have done an admirable job here.”

 

Roman dared to look at Virgil’s face, he was horrified to see that Virgil was crying, ruining his re-applied eye make-up.

 

“I can put it back like it was!” He said quickly to Virgil, “If you don’t like it I can put it back.”

 

Virgil just stared back at him and slowly he gave Roman a soft half-smile. “I love it.” He said. And that was enough, because Virgil was happy, and he knew that Roman cared without Roman having to say anything.

 

It was Logan’s turn to make dinner that night, so the table was piled high with fish fillets and a pumpkin and fetta salad that was more delicious than any salad had any right to be. Virgil went directly to his room as soon as they were done. This made Roman a lot happier than it normally would, because he took Virgil liking the room as a sincere compliment.

 

Roman dried while Patton washed, they sung their way through the Moana soundtrack, but as soon as they were done Patton spoke.

 

“When you turned up today in that truck, ready to take on the world, I swear I fell in love with you all over again.” Roman turned red and Patton continued, “And then with the room. You’re so generous with yourself and as long as you’re looking after yourself while you do so, I’m going to go weak-kneed at the sight.”

 

Roman smiled, and it wasn’t his glamourous actor’s smile, which was safe and normal. It was his emotional genuine smile, that only Patton and Logan got to see. “You know how much that means to me,” He said, his voice tight.

 

“You know I like reminders,” Patton said, handing Roman the last spoon to be cleaned, “but I know you’d rather show me.” Patton grinned mischievously, “Do you think you can carry me to our room?”

 

Roman made one of his signature offended noises, “Of course I can! I could do it with me eyes shut!”

 

“Maybe don’t do that,” Patton grinned, putting an arm around Roman’s neck and jumping into his arms, “but I do plan on distracting you on your journey, is that OK?”

 

“Always, my love.”


	7. Crappy Parents Club

Virgil was slowly getting used to living at work. The sleep in was definitely very nice and living with his boss meant not having that horrific panic that Roman was going to fire him every time he messed something up, after all, he saw Roman first thing in the morning trying to pour cereal into the coffee-maker.

 

Although, it did make him all the more desperate for the play to succeed. His having a place to live depended on it. And he wanted Patton, Logan, and Roman to have somewhere to live too.

 

Virgil woke up on a Thursday morning to find Logan sitting calmly in the family room. The night before Virgil and Logan had gone over his salary and the mortgage costs, figuring out how much Virgil would contribute to the rent. Logan stiffened slightly as he entered. Slowly bringing himself out of the world of his book he looked up and spoke.

 

“Are you well, Virgil?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking about all the stuff I have to do today,” Virgil said dryly.

 

“I find that actually writing a list makes tasks seem far more controllable, if you would like to try it.” Logan offered Virgil a paper and pen from the table beside him.

 

Once Virgil had a physical list in front of him, it didn’t seem too bad. Only one point was making his insides fill with dream. There, written in Virgil’s scrawl were the words ‘call mom’.

 

He tried to work for an hour, but he just couldn’t do it. His mind kept drifting back to the fact that he had to call her. If he didn’t she’d call out of the blue again and guilt trip him. And how was he supposed to make sure Bea was OK? She was only 10 and didn’t have a phone of her own. He finally accepted that he was just going to have to do it. He found a secluded corner of the theatre and dialled her number.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hi mom, it’s me,”

 

“Oh, Virgil! I was going to call you, I saw that there were some really bad storms near you. Were you OK?”

Virgil almost smiled at that, “No, my apartment got hit by a tree, but I’m staying with some friends and rent with them is cheaper anyways,” he was careful to tell the truth, but not in a way that would give everything away.

 

“That’s . . .” She paused. “Good.” Virgil stayed silent, wanting her to just say whatever was on her mind. “These friends, who are they?”

 

“It’s Roman, Logan, and Patton.” He wasn’t about to tell her about their living arrangement.

 

“Oh?” Her voice rose in pitch suddenly and Virgil began to panic, had he given something away? “And um . . . What sort of people are they?”

 

Virgil supressed an eye roll. “Human people,” he said.

 

“That’s not what I meant, Virgil.” She snapped. “Are they . . .” She paused again and changed her track, “I know you are confused about . . . some things and I just want to make sure you aren’t making any mistakes.”

 

Virgil wanted to scream. Why had he decided to call her? “Make sure I’m not shacking up with the first available guys I see? You mean.” He growled into the receiver. He was done with this. He was his own person. “This call is over.” He hung up with more force than necessary.

 

He wanted to cry. He wanted to yell. He wanted to go make out with the nearest guy in protest. His entire being was being pulled in so many directions by his feelings. He was berating himself for being rude to his mom, and he was annoyed that he didn’t tell her off sooner. There was no winning.

 

He went upstairs. Logan hadn’t moved since earlier but he jumped up when Virgil entered.

 

“Virgil, you seem to be in a great deal of distress? What happened?”

 

Virgil bit back his nasty retort about Logan and his stupid list, he didn’t want Logan to hate him. “I called my mom.” He said bitterly.

 

“And it didn’t go well?”

 

“It went about the same as always.” Virgil responded. “She’s a homophobic bitch.”

 

Logan frowned at that, then settled his features and examined Virgil. “Dealing with homophobia is always an unpleasant experience. I have found that commiserating with others who understand the situation is usually the best form of help. However, I am not the most equipped person to commiserate with so please give me a moment.”

 

“Um, sure.” Virgil was confused. Logan pulled out his phone and sent a text.  Less than a minute later Roman appeared in the door.

 

“Logan said we’re commiserating.” Roman said, slightly breathless from running up the stairs. “Wine or no wine?”

 

“Roman, it is 11 in the morning.” Logan said sternly.

 

“Wine later?”

 

“Wine later.”

 

Roman sat down opposite Virgil and looked at him. “So,” Roman stretched out the word, “we’re starting a crappy parents club, huh?”

 

That made Virgil snort, but sent a pang of worry through him. “What did Logan tell you?”

 

“Just that you called your mom and are now distressed, like almost in those exact words.”

 

“Yeah, she’s just –“ Virgil paused, “She’s not the worst or anything, she works really hard for us, especially after the divorce, but she’s just so convinced that I’ve deluded myself into thinking I’m gay. Like who would do that? ‘Oh geez, I really feel like being persecuted today, but gosh darn it, I’m a white male, guess I’ll be gay?’” Virgil mocked. Roman doubled over in laughter.

 

“That – was – perfect!” Roman managed through his laughter. “You should see mine, they’re all, ‘we just don’t understand your lifestyle choices,’ and I’m like, ‘um you guys wear crocs, you don’t get to lecture me about lifestyle choices.’”

 

That set Virgil off into fits of laughter. Maybe it wasn’t super funny, but having someone who got it, who understood what it was like to have parents who loved the concept of their child but not the actual child, made everything bubble up until the bubbles were coming out if his chest as laughter.

 

“Oh, I know that one,” Virgil rolled his eyes. “Sometimes I just wanna say “I know I’m a huge disappointment, mom, but like let me live.”

 

“The mood,” Roman declared majestically, “she is large!” Which, of course set both of them off laughing.

 

“That,” Logan said, clearing his throat and looking at Roman and Virgil, “was very disturbing.”

 

Roman eased Virgil’s concern, “Logan doesn’t really get ‘feelings’ and complex coping strategies are on a whole new level.”

 

Work went by quickly after that, except every time someone in the theatre said, “big mood”, Virgil and Roman would make eye contact and laugh. It was Roman’s turn to cook dinner that night and he made a paella from his aunt’s secret recipe. Whatever the secret ingredients were, they were delicious. After everything had been cleared away Virgil went into his room, but he still felt too keyed up to sleep.

 

He hunted around the closet for the craft supplies he knew Roman had left in there and found a sewing kit along with a pile of clothes marked ‘mending’. Virgil needed to calm down and doing something nice for the people who had been so helpful was definitely a good place to start.

 

It was well into the night when Virgil finally packed up the sewing kit, a pile of neatly folded and fixed clothes lying beside his bed.


	8. Sweet like a jar of Crofter’s

Virgil was awake before anyone else the next morning. He crept out into the hallway, careful not to make any noise, and placed the mended clothes next to the closed door that lead to Roman, Patton, and Logan’s room. He didn’t want to go back to bed. His head was still swirling with a thousand and one thoughts that wouldn’t let him sleep in peace. But he couldn’t stop them. How many times had he misjudged Roman? How was Logan both so passionate about things and so robotic? Why was Patton so kind all the time? And most of all: Why on earth did they all seem to like him?

 

Virgil ignored these thoughts, knowing damn well he didn’t have an answer for any of them, and opened Tumblr on his phone. He exhaled impatiently as the images took forever to load, but was eventually scrolling through mindlessly, occasionally glancing up to appreciate the sunrise through the window.

 

Logan came down next, making himself and Virgil a cup of coffee. Virgil appreciated that Logan didn’t see any need to break the comfortable silence that had fallen over the family room. There was no doubt in Virgil’s mind that the other two would have shattered the peace within a second of entering the room. He was proven right half an hour later by the surprise arrival of not one, but both Patton and Roman. Patton was already dressed and was squealing with excitement around Roman who was still in his pyjamas. Did his shorts have little crown on them?

 

Virgil was distracted by Roman’s loud bellow. “Friends, Romans,” he gestured to himself and laughed, “Countrymen, lend me your ears!”

 

“Do you come to bury Caesar, not to praise him?” Logan asked, not looking up from his phone.

 

“No!” Roman declared, “I have far better news! Both Foster High and Flagstaff Prep have booked their entire AP English and Drama classes seats for the performance. Even with the large group booking discount we’re well on our way!”

 

That was definitely enough to get Logan and Virgil to put their phones away. Logan ran over to kiss Roman as Virgil said, “Congratulations, Princey!”

 

This called for a celebratory breakfast. Patton busied himself in the kitchen making waffles while Roman sang ‘Almost There’ from the Princess and the Frog, trying  to dance with Logan, though Logan wasn’t having it.

 

“Fine!” Roman said in mock offense, “I’ll just have to dance with Virgil.”

 

“No!” Virgil said quickly, “You don’t have to do that!” But he still stood up when Roman loomed over him, his arms outstretched invitingly. Why was he doing this? Well, he was happy for Roman and he didn’t want to bring the triad down. And there was the fact that when Roman took Virgil’s hands in his warm ones, Virgil realised he couldn’t remember the last time anyone had actually touched him, other than to brush past him on busy streets.

 

Virgil could hear Patton’s sweet voice joining in with Roman from the open-plan kitchen. “. . . But you’ve gotta make ‘em happen it all depends on you!” Roman span Virgil and he nearly hit the coffee table, but it was he managed to avoid it by grabbing the arm on the armchair Logan was sitting in.

 

“Oops! Sorry,” Roman grinned before resuming his song, “Look out boys I’m coming through!” He grinned, dipping Virgil but with great care, not wanting him to fall again. Virgil rolled his eyes, but it felt really nice, being involved like this. He’d lived his whole life around fake smiles and touches that were just for show, while the triad’s life was unconventional yes, but it was so genuine and loving. And Virgil felt privileged just to be able to witness it. Screw it, he thought, happiness was always fleeting, might as well join in.

 

He let his voice join Roman and Patton’s. “People gonna come here from everywhere! And I’m almost there! I’m almost there!”

 

Roman beamed, “That’s the spirit!” Roman danced them into the kitchen to join Patton and even Logan joined them. Not really singing but pretending to conduct as he grabbed the jam from the pantry, along with other waffle toppings.

 

“Thank you, by the way, Virgil,” Patton said as he handed Virgil some waffles, “I saw the pile of mended clothes this morning, that must have taken you a while.”

 

“Not really,” Virgil shrugged under the scrutiny, “I just figured it was a good way to say thanks for all the stuff you’ve done for me or something.”

 

“Well, it was very sweet of you, so thank you.” Patton smiled at Virgil and Virgil found himself smiling back with ease. He sat down and laughed at Logan trying to empty the entire jam jar onto his waffle while Roman whined, “Leave some for the rest of us!”

 

Down in the theatre Roman’s news was cause for both celebration and stress, as they were up to their dress rehearsal and everything was happening very fast. Virgil managed most of his cues without needing to be prompted over the radio and the cast and crew were certainly in high spirits by the end of the day.

 

By the end of the day Virgil and Roman were pleased but exhausted. Despite that, Virgil made Logan add him to the chore roster and he made them dinner. It was just a stir-fry, but hey, it was something. All four of them ended up staying up far later than usual, talking about everything from Patton’s and Logan’s students, the cast and crew gossip, and the general excitement that the ticket sales were bringing.

 

Every time Roman got a sale confirmation email he would make an excited gasp that was for more endearing than it had any right to be. Virgil scrolled absently through his Tumblr when an idea struck him, it was a stupid, terrible idea, but there was a tiny chance it might help. He wasn’t properly Tumblr famous or anything (and why would he want to be?) but he did have a couple thousand followers, so he acted on his stupid impulse and wrote.

 

 ‘Hey this isn’t band or fandom related but um, I’m sort of doing the sound/lighting for a play at this re-opened community theatre in Foster,’ he added a link to the website, ‘and if anyone is in the area we’re doing the Tempest and its really good. The cast and crew have worked really hard and the theatre needs this show to do well to keep running, so um . . . please buy tickets and come see us if you can’.

 

He tagged it quickly and pressed post before he could change his mind. He sure hoped he hadn’t catastrophically ruined anything. Knowing him though, he probably had. But when he looked at the triad, in a cuddle pile on the couch and buzzing with excitement, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it, or to believe he’d ruined everything, because how could anything that brought them joy be bad?

 


	9. Showtime!

Everything was in a complete frenzy for opening night. Joan’s hair stuck up at odd angles, Talyn kept rubbing their hands together nervously, and everyone became a thousand times more superstitious, because even if it was BS, it couldn’t hurt, right?

 

Virgil had only left his little both to fill up his water bottle. Patton had sent both him and Roman downstairs with so much food, probably enough to feed the entire cast. And speaking of Roman, he was doing what he did best, he somehow managed to fill the whole theatre with his voice with instructions that were obeyed with a lot less sass than the cast and crew were used to. Every time any two people made eye contact they shared a sympathetic nervous glance, tonight was the night.

 

Virgil considered heading over to Roman or upstairs to Logan and Patton, but there never seemed to be a good time, and he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d do or say once he’d gotten to them. And by the time people began to enter the theatre it was certainly too late.

 

A flash of movement caught his eye and he saw Patton waving at him from the top of the stairs that lead down into the seats, Logan was holding his hand and was also waving, but more calmly.

 

“Hey Virgil, how ya feeling?” Patton asked, putting a comforting hand of Virgil’s shoulder.

 

“Take a wild guess.” Virgil said, though his words lacked bite when they came from a smiling mouth.

 

“Roman tells me it’s ‘bad luck’,” Logan made air quotes around the words, “to wish someone good luck in the theatre, so fracture a femur.”

 

“What the hell?” Virgil stared at him.

 

“The original phrase was ‘break a leg’ but I improved it.” Logan smiled slightly.

 

“I hate both of those equally,” Virgil said, “but thanks anyway.”

 

As Patton and Logan went to find their seats Virgil bit back a grin. He was surprised at how good he felt. Patton was just so unendingly kind, even if he was upset or hurt, he never took it out on other people, Virgil hadn’t even known people could do that. And Logan’s odd combination of incredible theoretical knowledge and complete lack of practical sense was so endearing that Virgil almost forgot to find it frustrating. He worried about them, about how people could be unforgiving of their eccentricities, and how Virgil couldn’t stop them, no matter how much he might want to. He just wanted them to be safe and happy so badly.

 

Joan radioed him to signal the start of the show and Virgil dimmed the lights and hit play on the storm sounds track. He would never get tired of the way people would gasp as the lights grew dark around them. They knew it was going to happen, but for some reason it was still astounding to them.

 

He smirked at people’s response to Ferdinand being a girl. Anyone who knew Roman knew he was going to make this play gay, the guy practically personified the gay agenda. Virgil was looking forward to seeing the school’s reactions when they came to the day performances.

 

Somehow Virgil made it through the show. He screwed up a bit during Talyn’s Act 3 Scene 3 monologue, but there were just so many things he had to be doing during it. He just hoped that nobody who didn’t know what it was supposed to look like would notice. He breathed carefully to steady his hands as he switched the lighting for Roman’s final monologue.

 

“Now my charms are all o'erthrown,” Roman called into the audience and damn he could act. Virgil watched the way the eccentric, overzealous, and stupidly optimistic Roman became a world-weary magician. He felt tears trickle down his face and immediately felt embarrassed. Great, now he was going to have to touch up his make up before anyone saw him. But he didn’t duck down to get a tissue, in fact, he nearly missed his cue because all he could see was the ways Roman and Prosper were alike: Both capable of incredible magic, both with regrets, both with difficult family relationships, and both with a tendency to get carried away with themselves. Virgil couldn’t believe how incredible Roman was, yes he was a clueless moron just about all the time, but he was still incredible.

 

“As you from crimes would pardoned be, Let your indulgence set me free.” Roman finished. Virgil clapped hard with the audience, only stopping to wipe his face because he knew Roman and the rest of the cast would gesture up to him after the curtain call.

 

When he turned the spotlight on to himself it was blinding, he Virgil didn’t shy away from it. He felt so lucky to be a part of this, he couldn’t bring himself to want to hide, not when being seen meant being a part of what they’d created. He peered through the light to Roman on stage, who was beaming at him, sending a thrill up Virgil’s spine.

 

The audience left, and everybody did their best to clean up. Virgil watched Patton, Logan, and Roman hug on the stage. He knew he wasn’t a part of what they had, but he ached to be up there with them. He’d spent so much of his life standing on the outside looking in, too afraid to step into the world. Being who people wanted him to be had been a lie, but the risk had always been too great for him to be himself. Even starting to wear make-up had been met with ramifications. Moving to Foster had been the most out there thing Virgil had ever done, and he’d sworn afterwards that he was never going to do anything that nerve-wracking ever again. But there was something about the triad that made him want to jump into the deep end, and that terrified him as much as it thrilled him.

 

He felt the fear consume him, his chest closing tightening. He knew he wasn’t going to do anything. What was he even going to do anyway? It was stupid to think he was anything more than peripheral to their relationship. But it was OK, what Virgil had was enough for him, he could make it be enough. That decision might have been even more painful than the terror.


	10. Let your indulgence set me free

Somehow, they got through the shows. Four weeks of evenings every day and two matinees a week was exhausting but also exhilarating. Every night when there hadn’t been a matinee beforehand and therefore Virgil hadn’t passed out on his bed the moment he’d finished dinner, Roman, Patton, Logan, and Virgil would stay up celebrating a successful night. Ticket sales mean the theatre was at least three-quarters full during any given performance, the weekend shows were always sold out.

 

These celebrations were a source of both great comfort and great joy for Virgil. On one hand it was delightful to be surrounded by so much love and acceptance, it was such a new sensation and Virgil was drowning in it in the best way possible. On the other hand, ever since Virgil had realised how badly he wanted to be a part of what was in front of him, he couldn’t stop the pangs in his chest every time he thought about the way he was just intruding on them, he wasn’t even meant to be there, but reminding himself of that just made it hurt more.

 

But closing night was finally upon them. Roman grinned at Virgil and signalled him down to the stage from his sound booth. “Virgil, have you considered helping with any of the holiday programs? I mean, if you still wanna stay with us, you’ll need work after the show’s over and I just figured I should offer.” Roman trailed off. Virgil felt a pang of worry smack him hard in the chest. Was he still going to live with them? He shouldn’t do it to himself, or them. But the idea of living alone with only his thoughts for company terrified him, and he certainly wasn’t about to move back home. It was cruel and selfish to want to stay, manipulative and completely taking advantage of their trust and hospitality.

 

“I-I’m not that good with kids or anything, I dunno,” Virgil shrugged, trying to deal with all the thoughts spinning up a tornado in his head.

 

“Well,” Roman patted his shoulder, “think about it. If you have any ideas about what you could do, let me know.” Roman gave Virgil an academy award winning smile and walked off to talk to Dalia and Derionna about their on-stage romance.

 

Virgil walked over to Talyn. “Sorry I keep messing up your monologue,” he said apologetically.

 

They gave him a sympathetic look, “It’s no big deal. There’s a lot of cues and stuff. I’m pretty sure no one notices.”

 

“Thanks,” Virgil half-smiled, sitting down next to Talyn.

 

“But . . .” they paused, searching Virgil’s face, “that’s not why you’re acting all troubled. What’s up?”

 

Virgil paused. He wasn’t sure he should tell Talyn, but hell, anything would be better than listening to his own thoughts right now, he decided to talk to Talyn, but keep it on safer topics. “Roman asked if there was anything I wanted to do here as a job over the Summer holidays, but I don’t really do . . . working with kids.”

 

“Well . . .” Talyn pursed their lips, “what can you do other than that? There’s set making and your sound stuff?”

 

“I can sew, and sound design is a thing, I guess.” Virgil shrugged.

 

That made Talyn gasp and gesture at Virgil wildly. “You can help me make costumes! I don’t really do the kid stuff either. We do get a couple of kids from textiles classes, but they’re all at least 16 so they aren’t massive pains or anything.”

 

“That’d be great, thanks Talyn.” Virgil grinned and Talyn elbowed him amicably.

 

“We should probably get back to work now, or the boss’ll get us,” they said.

 

“I’m so scared,” Virgil replied sarcastically, “he might sing at me.”

 

Laughing, Virgil returned to his booth, knowing he wouldn’t be leaving it until after the final show was over.

 

Patton came down just before the show started, giving Virgil a mocha and a pat on the back and Virgil swallowed down a pang of guilt and shame and focused on the show.

 

It was typical, that the last show would be the one where he finally got the hang of all the cues. Even Talyn’s monologue, which he’d never once gotten perfect before, passed without a single mistake. The final monologue got him though, like it always did. Prospero says goodbye, he accepts that nothing will ever be the same and asks the audience for their blessing as he goes on into the unknown. Every time Roman has gotten on that stage and recited the monologue, all Virgil can think about is how much he wished he could do that too, just let go of fear and hatred and step forwards.

 

But he wasn’t going to. He didn’t even understand what he wanted, so how was he supposed to ask for it? And then there was the fear of rejection . . . yeah, no thanks.

 

As soon as the audience had left Joan pulled a bottle of champagne from thin air and popped the cork in celebration. There was no point in cleaning the theatre twice, so they would party before the cleaning. Joan poured everyone who drank a glass and handed juice boxes to the others.

 

Roman raised his glass in a toast. “We did it!” He declared, his face a mess of hastily wiped off make-up and his hair a mess, but the gleam in his eyes made him absolutely stunning. Roman downed his drink and leapt at Patton, lifting him and twirling him gracefully, Patton smiled in celebration. When Roman had put Patton down he moved over to Logan and dipped him like a dancer, kissing him while he was down. The cast whooped, and Virgil found himself once again standing in between, he was too close to the triad to whoop and jeer at them playfully, but he wasn’t close enough to be a part of them. He knew he could close the gap in either direction, but he just couldn’t do it. He was frozen.

 

That put a damper on his mood. The party dispersed, and Virgil cleaned to himself. He knew he was acting rudely, being snappy and short with people, but it was just so hard for him to have what he wanted right in front of him but to be unable to touch it, like some fucked up reiteration of Tantalus’ punishment in Tartarus.

 

He could hear the triad behind him muttering to each other as they made their way up to the loft.

 

“Are you certain now is a good time?” That was Roman’s voice.

 

“Ro, we already waited until the show was over, any longer and its really dishonest.” Patton replied.

 

“I agree with Patton, any further delays will be unending, it is best to act while we have the courage to do so.” Logan added.

 

“What do we even say? This isn’t enough. It should be better.” Roman’s words came quickly.

 

“We simply need to be direct and honest,” Logan assured him.

 

Virgil did his best to pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping as they walked into their home. Everything was just how they’d left it that morning, but somehow that didn’t seem to fit what was going on. Things felt different, so why did everything look the same?

 

“Virgil?” Logan’s tone was serious, that wasn’t good.

 

“Yeah?” Virgil’s mouth went dry.

 

“Could we maybe talk to you for a second? If that’s OK?” Patton chimed in and Virgil felt his heart pound in his chest. Were they going to kick him out? Had they gotten tired of him? Oh God, he was so close to being properly happy and it was all going to be pulled out from underneath him.

 

“Logan!” Roman said quickly, “He’s panicking, you need to say something fast.”

 

“You’re the romantic one, why don’t you say something?” Logan replied, Roman just glared at him. “Very well,” Logan cleared his throat, “Patton, Roman and myself have realised that we have romantic feelings for you, and my observational data has lead me to believe that you may reciprocate these feelings.”

 

Virgil blinked. What had just happened? He couldn’t process it. This was . . . the opposite of whatever he’d been expecting.

 

“We know it’s a bit sudden,” Patton voice was soft, kind, “but we decided you should know.”

 

“You, what?” Virgil’s response came out croaky. “Why?”

 

It was Roman’s turn. “I didn’t even know that we were missing something. But then you showed up and you were so . . . you. And I convinced myself that was a bad thing, but then you stayed with us and I understood. The way you’re so careful because protection is how you show you care, and when I see you slipping around your apathetic mask, that’s  . . . it’s just . . . you’re magnificent.” Roman coughed, “And you make us . . . better.”

 

Roman was crying, Patton too. Virgil even thought he saw a tear in the corner of Logan’s eye. So, he wasn’t surprised when he felt wetness on his face. They actually liked him? Virgil nodded, unable to form words.

 

“Is that you accepting our feelings?” Logan asked and Virgil continued to nod.

 

“Wonderful!” Roman declared, “Because I have been waiting a long time to do this.” Roman bounded over to Virgil, placing one hand on Virgil’s chin. “Is this OK?” Roman asked, his eyes filled with affection. Virgil just nodded again, at this rate he was going to turn into a bobble-head doll.

 

Roman closed the gap between their lips and Virgil could taste tears, but he felt exhilarated, like panic but good, so, so good. When they broke apart Virgil felt a smile appear on his face that only widened when he heard Patton’s voice.

 

“My turn!”

 

Virgil met Logan’s eye’s and Logan smirked back. “I can wait, but rest assured, I’ll be kissing you soon too.”

 

For the first time in a long time, Virgil smiled so hard his cheeks hurt.


	11. Finally

Virgil woke with a start. The shifting weight of the bed beneath him frightened him for a second before his brain supplied the source of the disturbance. _Logan_. He opened his eyes as he felt a hand rub his back gently. _Patton_. He leaned back into the touch, humming contentedly.

 

As soon as he’d joined Logan, Roman, and Patton’s relationship Logan had decided they were going to need a bigger bed. Meanwhile, they’d just all piled onto the existing queen-sized bed. It was a squishy fit, but since nine of them needed a personal bubble around each other, they made do.

 

In the week since they’d tearfully confessed their feelings like some awful soap opera, not too much had changed. Virgil wasn’t ready to jump right into ‘copulation’ as Logan called it but cuddling with them and being around them as a ‘partner’ rather than a houseguest was so new and amazing.

 

Patton stirred behind Virgil, he felt a kiss press against the back of his neck and watched as Patton got out of the bed and moved around in front of Virgil’s field of view, dipping his head down and pressing a kiss to Roman’s temple. Roman exhaled and snuggled closer to Virgil, seeking warmth. Virgil knew they had to get up and get to work soon, they had some holiday programs to run and Virgil needed his morning cup of coffee.

 

Virgil brushed some of Roman’s hair away from his face, Roman would have looked asleep if it weren’t for the stubborn set of his jaw, showcasing his determination to remain in the bed. Virgil smirked, it had taken him all of two mornings with his boyfriends to figure out how to get Roman out of the bed.

 

Virgil leant down and kissed the corner of Roman’s mouth gently. Roman smiled and adjusted his position in order to deepen the kiss. Virgil and Roman enjoyed themselves for a moment before Virgil pulled away and got out of the bed. Roman whined and pouted but got out of the bed anyway, kissing Virgil as he wrapped himself in blankets.

 

Out in the kitchen Patton embraced them as he flitted around the kitchen, giggling “you taste like each other,” as he kissed them both. Logan didn’t do PDA as much as the others but he still smiled at them over breakfast and flirted, unlike Patton who preferred ironically bad pick-up lines, Logan flirtation was a terrifying combination of sincere and witty which reduced all three of them into blushing messes.

 

Never in a million years, would Virgil have imagined that his life would be this great. Part of him was still waiting for the day when they’d wake up and realise what a mistake they’d made, letting him into their relationship. But the more time he spent with them, the quieter those thoughts became.


End file.
